The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1887-04-15
ROBBERS IN LIMBO.


half Million Dollars Worth of VAL
liable Goods of Every Description Stolen.
PITTSBURGH, Pa, April IA wide.
spread conspiracy to rob the trains Of the
Panhandle Railroad Company has been
discovered among the trainmen employed
on that road, and from Sunday midnight
until nine o'clock yesterday morning Off
GERS were kept busy making arrests as the
freight trains arrived here. Sixty arrests
in ali nave been made and a number Of
warrants are still out.
The arrests have created the greatest ex-
element among the railroad employees Of
the city. The scenes about the jail doors yes
terday morning where relatives of the pris-
oners had gathered to learn the cause of
their arrests were of the saddest descrip-
ton. Wives, children, parents, brothers
and sisters with tear-stained faces stood
around the entrances of the prison eager
to hear the latest developments and
pleading with the officers for admission to
the jail to see the prisoners.
CONSERVATION prevails among the pro-
prietors of the 'fences" and dens where
the goods were secreted and sold. In one
instance the proprietor of a notorious den
was detected in the act of burning stolen
property.
A number of houses in various parts of
the city were raided and a large quantities
of goods recovered. Every man arrested
had stolen goods somewhere. Among the
prisoners are several desperate characters,
who were wanted by the police fer other
offenses. They were all armed and when
not taken by surprise resisted arrest.
Numbers overpowered them, however, and
all were safely lodged in jail
A special dispatch from Dennison says
the officers have arrested James and W.
Coils with several thousand dollars worth
of velvets and high-priced dry goods ia
their possession, articles taken from United
States bonded cars en- route to Chicago,
st. Louis and other points West. One Bus
by, the worst man in the gang, slipped his
handouts and recklessly threw himself
from the train while it was going and es-
capped.
The most important arrest made here was
Brakeman Young. He called at the Jail to
see one of the prisoners yesterday morning,
and was Immediately locked up. At first he
protested that he was innocent, but finally
admittedsthat he had large lot of the stolen
property at his home, and told how the
goods had come into his possession. His
confession will, it is said, convict thirteen
crews. kilograms from Cadiz, Steuben-
vile, and points west of Columbus report
the arrest of a large number OF railroad
employees implicated in the robberies.
The preliminary hearing will be held on
April Is.
John II. Hampton, attorney for the COM
pany, said that the robberies had been GO
ing on for several years, and that about
$500, 900 worth OF property had been stolen.
The company began Investigations in Sep
TENDER, 1886, placing detectives on trains.
Seventy-tive crews were detected. In
some cases every one of the men in a crew
were implicated. The men were well
organized and worked to protect each
other. Sometimes the seals of the
cars were broken and sometimes cars
were chopped open. Each man had his
particular work to do. Whisky was stolen
in large quantities and drank in the ca
bosses. Not daring to keep whisky openly
in the cars they tore up the flooring and
hid it underneath. Men were continually
reported drunk on duty, and the proba-
bility of disaster was something frightful
to contemplate All kinds of goods
were stolen, including sewing-machines,
guns, revolvers, cutlery, silverware,
cigars, clothing, liquors, groceries, furni-
ture, and in fact every imaginable article
that can be carried on a car were quietly
removed. The depredations were commit
ted all along the road, and the losers re-
side at points as far West as Denver
Fences were established in this city, where
the stolen property was taken and then
sold, the money being evenly divided
among the crews.
The combination to rob freight train
necessitated the guilty knowledge and
actual participation of the conductor, the
middle brakemen, one or two, and the rear
brakeman or flagman. 1t did not, If neces-
sity, take in the front brakeI en- lor the
engineer or fireman, but the her had to
be in to make it work, and ii work.
1t was not required that they should wreck
trains to rob them. Every excuse when
they knew could not well be denied was
given for broken cars when they neglected,
which they frequently did, to seal or lock
them up again. The Government bonded
cars were broken, perhaps, oftener than the
ordinary Union line or common freight cars
In these they always knew they could get
choice goods. Silks, cigars, rifles, all
kinds of imported firearms and caddies Of
tobacco seemed to be some of their necessi-
ties. Boxes of shoes and general run Of
merchan supplies Tor their everyday use
were found in the caboose cars Of each
train.
Fires were in progress yesterday all
along the line of the Pan Handle road,
made up of stuff got out of the caboose
cars, that the evidence of things not seen
may be wanting when the trial comes.
Almost every man arrested had from one
to ten pawn tickets for all sorts of articles
on his person. 1t is alleged that every
pawnshop in the two cities is represented
on the tickets An amount of several
thousand dollars is said to be recoverable
in this way alone.
The arrest of whole crews had left
large number of trains deserted. There
were twenty-four Of these trains piled
closely together on the side-tracks in the
yards. The detention of freight, however,
was only temporary. An extra force Of
sixty men had been employed. These were
put on the deserted trains in place of the
arrested employees.
Late last night J. R. Dunlap, the ring
leader, made a confession to the detec-
tives, in which he implicated several out
siders and located 'fences" at Dennison,
O., New Philadelphia and other places.